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Logan, IAPhoto: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Logan Public Library

Logan’s library logs 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Logan Public Library serves Logan’s 4,677 residents. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 8,301 visits.

121 E 6th St., Logan 51546 · about 39 hours a week
ACivic lifeAhead of 90% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
14K
2.9 per resident
Visits a year
8,301
1.8 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
132
about 3 a week · 1,408 attended
Cardholders
69%
3,250 cards
Open
39 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Logan’s library

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

26% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 72%. What your card is worth ↓

Programs lean toward adults

54% of the 132 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 32 were for children. Kids & programs ↓

A big collection for the borrowing it gets

Logan Public Library holds 23,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓

This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Logan’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Logan is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Logan is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.

A
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Logan’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 90%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $64K–$106K (8,782)Ahead of 90%

Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Logan is small (1,352 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →

Places to belong

6 community nonprofits are registered in Logan

4.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation21.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans21.44 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services21.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.36 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.36 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other00.36 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

13.2%

13.2% of Logan’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Iowa town and 7.5% nationally.

Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Logan’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.8 visits · typical 3Lower than 73%
Borrowing per resident 2.9 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 63%
Kids’ borrowing 1.3 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 57%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 68%
Programs offered 28.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 59%
Cardholders 69% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 78%
Spending $24 per resident · typical $43Lower than 79%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Logan Public Library serves 4,677 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

8,301
visits
1.8 per resident
14K
loans, print + digital
2.9 per resident
132
programs & events
1,408 attended
3,250
library cards
69% of people served
Every open hour7items borrowed
Every week27people at a program
Every day5Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)8 public computers23K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

14K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

14Kloans
Books & media (adults) 54%Kids’ books & media 46%
How hard the shelves work
0.6×

Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

132 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Logan →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–517
Ages 6–1115
Teens9
Adults71
All ages20
Little ones
0.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
17

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Logan last year.

1,408
people at programs
132
programs
The building

Find it

Logan Public Library, 121 E 6th St., Logan.

39
hours open a week
4,800
square feet
23K
books & media
With a card

Ask at the desk about getting a card.

New in Logan? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.94 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Logan cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$24 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $114K.

Local taxes 72%State 2%Gifts & other 26%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $221K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $114K budget.

Late fines apply to some overdue items.

Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 3,250 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.

Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →

Questions about the library and civic life in Logan

Does Logan have a public library?

Yes. Logan Public Library, 121 E 6th St., serves Logan’s 4,677 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Logan Public Library fine-free?

It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Logan’s library?

It logged 1.8 visits and lent 2.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Logan’s civic life grade?

A Logan is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Logan.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.